a major incident is declared after a train derails in aberdeenshire. dozens of emergency services vehicles including an air ambulance are responding as smoke billows across the countryside. i have just i havejust come i have just come off a car with network rail and emergency services. although details are still emerging, i'm afraid to say there are early reports of serious injuries. we'll be live at the scene. the other stories this lunchtime: students in england may be able to use their mock exam scores if they're unhappy with their a—level grades, in a change announced just ahead of results being released tomorrow. the uk is officially suffering its biggest recession on record. the fall in output caused by the covid—i9 pandemic is on course to be one of

the worst among major economies. today's figures show that hard times are here. hundreds of thousands of people have already lost theirjobs, and sadly many more will. and senator kamala harris makes history after she's named as joe biden‘s presidential running—mate, the first black woman to be a candidate for vice president. and coming up on bbc news, the superleague season in chaos, with at least one match called off this weekend after six hull fc players test positive for covid—i9. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. a major incident has been declared after a train derailed in aberdeenshire.

dozens of fire, police and ambulance vehicles have been at the scene near stonehaven where smoke has been billowing from the track across the countryside. in the past hour, scotland's first minister said details were still emerging, but there were reports of serious injuries. the prime minister says his thoughts are with all of those affected. there was heavy rain overnight in the area and it's thought there may have been a land slip. our transport correspondent tom burridge reports. the thick smoke billowing out of the valley below where a train derailed near stonehaven mid—morning. helicopters drafted in to recover the injured. the scale of this major emergency operation in a remote part of aberdeenshire clear early on. it's not a landslip after heavy rain might have pushed the train off the

tracks. the scotrail passenger train derailed early this morning. emergency services are on site and a major incident has been declared. i've just major incident has been declared. i'vejust come off major incident has been declared. i've just come off a call with network rail and emergency services and although details are still emerging, i'm afraid there are early reports of serious injuries. my immediate thoughts are with all those involved in this incident. weather conditions in the area in hours before the train derailed had been described as atrocious. heavy rain caused flash flooding nearby, in the town of stonehaven. in recent yea rs, in the town of stonehaven. in recent years, the in the town of stonehaven. in recent yea rs, the safety in the town of stonehaven. in recent years, the safety record of the uk's ra i lwa ys years, the safety record of the uk's railways has been good. this was the last major derailment, in 2007. one passenger was killed and dozens were injured in cumbria because the track was ina injured in cumbria because the track

was in a poor state. initial indications suggest there was a landslide. i'm told a locomotive at the front and three out of four carriages left the track and are sitting down an embankment. the prime minister said his thoughts we re prime minister said his thoughts were with all those affected and his thanks with the emergency services on the scene. these pictures show it is not a straightforward rescue and recovery operation. investigators are already on their way to the scene. theirjob will be to carry out a meticulous investigation, to establish exactly what happened. tom burridge, bbc news. our correspondent ben philip is at the scene. ben, what is the latest? as you've just been hearing, there has been a major incident here in aberdeenshire this afternoon. the scottish fire

and rescue service confirmed it was dealing with a report from police scotla nd dealing with a report from police scotland about a train derailing near stonehaven. the initial report was received at about 9:1i0am this morning. we know it was a passenger train involved but so far no injuries have been officially confirmed. we know the train which derailed was made up of two locomotives at the front and back with four passenger carriages in the middle. i'm told a locomotive at the front and three passenger carriages have left the track and are now sitting on an embankment. to give you some context about where we are, this is a rural area about four miles from stonehaven. there are a lot of narrow and winding country roads. emergency vehicles have been rushing to the scene down these roads this morning and into the afternoon. we are four miles from stonehaven railway station.

emergency vehicles continue to arrive. 30 vehicles, to air ambulances and a coast guard helicopter, all parked 400 metres from where i'm standing in a field. a short while ago, smoke could be seen a short while ago, smoke could be seen billowing over the trees from the railway track area. we've not been able to see the track or the train, due to restrictions in the area. it is not yet clear what the cause of this incident is, but we did have some extreme weather, heavy rainfall and some thunder. we are hoping to hear shortly what the incident is. in the last few minutes, the first minister nicola sturgeon tweeted and said her thoughts are with all those involved. investigations are at an early stage and we are hoping for an

update shortly. thank you very much, ben, and apologies for interrupting him when we momentarily lost him. the education secretary, gavin williamson, has made last—minute changes to the way a—level results in england are to be decided, following the outcry in scotland over estimated grades. schools in england will be able to appeal on behalf of students wanting to use their mock results for university places orjobs, if they're better than their official grades. pupils can also opt to sit exams in the autumn. education unions said it beggared belief that changes were being made now. the same system, which is also being used in northern ireland, will apply to btec results this week and gcse results a week later. the welsh government insists there will be no such problems in wales. our education correspondent dan johnson reports. the stifling stress of exam season was replaced with the stress of an

u ntested was replaced with the stress of an untested system. no more late changes just a day before most results. in northern ireland and england, students unhappy tomorrow will be able to appeal, to keep their expected grade, based on mock exams instead. our concern was to ensure no students are disadvantaged. we want to avoid any student being disadvantaged by the system. and that's because scottish stu d e nts system. and that's because scottish students were affected. 125,000 grades were downgraded. protests brought about a reversal. overall results are up 14%. but these teenagers in hull are wondering how their grades will compare. quite anxious. this is a big phase,

getting results. it's kind of a compromise situation this year. it's unprecedented and no 1's is experienced it before. i'm feeling happy that i did well in my marks and assessments, but i'm concerned i'm given something and i would have achieved more if i'd sat the exam. i'm concerned there will be winners and losers in this. i'm worried that if they apply formulas based on previous years, some students will gain from that and others will lose out. we need to give the students the best possible chance to progress on. mock exams are done in different circumstances. some students don't even have agreed to appeal for. the fear is this late tweak to the system might not be enough to deal with an unfair situation, as was seen with an unfair situation, as was seenin with an unfair situation, as was

seen in scotland. this is a complete fiasco. this has been weeks or months coming. for an 11th hour change, it smacks of incompetence. if the rest of the uk doesn't follow the same as scotland, there will be even more inconsistency. in a year where young people have had less teaching and done for your exams, results go up 10%, many people would say the risk in that is that a grade a this year does not feel the same as last year. teacher predictions have been worked through rigorously across a team and standardised by exa m across a team and standardised by exam boards. the welsh government has tried to assure students their modelling is fair, with nearly half of theirfinal mark modelling is fair, with nearly half of their final mark based on last

yea r‘s of their final mark based on last year's as—levels. universities are promising flexibility and understanding, ina promising flexibility and understanding, in a year of real challenges. the real test tomorrow will be how big the changes are and how many students they affect. our political correspondent jonathan blake is at westminster. is the last minute change is likely to be enough? the timing tells us a lot about the pressure the government was under to make a change and the concern in government that a similar situation to the one we saw in scotland could unfold in england after exam results come out. and that's why they've put in a process for appeals. but we've heard there are problems with that. labour are criticising the inclusion of mock results as flawed as schools do them in different ways and some

don't even have a mock exam grade to go on. the government says this is a safety net for a small number of pupils. with that, i think, safety net for a small number of pupils. with that, ithink, becomes an acknowledgement that the system will be fairand an acknowledgement that the system will be fair and most students will get the grade they would have got if they had sat exams, but some will not. a—level results are released tomorrow. earlier on, the schools minister was asked what grade he would give the government's handling of the crisis and he said a—. whatever you think of that, the involvement in education, just as the government involvement in other areas this year, have had to act like never before. with life chances

of huge numbers of huge numbers of children hanging in the balance, the sta kes children hanging in the balance, the stakes could not be higher. thank you. the british economy suffered its biggest slump on record as the covid—19lockdown pushed the country into recession. official figures show the economy shrank by more than 20% between april and june. household spending plunged, as shops were ordered to close, while factory and construction output also fell. it means the uk is now officially in recession for the first time since 2009. our economics correspondent andy verity reports. blenheim palace, in oxfordshire, one of the must see sites in chinese tourist guidebooks. we now know the biggest recession on record was already under way in february when covid was still seen as just a chinese problem. this would have been a busy period for chinese new year tourism. we expect across february to lose about 5000 chinese visits. that would be about 10%. back then, its managers didn't imagine the economy was about to go through its biggest shock

since the palace was built, three centuries ago. after shutting in lockdown, it reopened as soon as possible, but the fall in visits, and therefore income, have hit its finances hard. it's been hugely disruptive, for someone like us, you need about 70% of your visitors to break even. and then the rest of those visitors pay for maintenance, restoration and the big, ambitious projects like the dredging of the lake. we are currently at 50%, so we are deeply in the red. as the government imposed full—blown lockdown in the second quarter of the year, the sectors, too, when three record the sectors, too, went through record slumps like construction, down 35%. 0h, goodness. it's been a challenging four months. we had a great growth plan, up until february or march. and then the lockdown and coronavirus happened, overnight we saw a 50% reduction in projects, live projects were actually being put on hold. we've just gone past dealing with the uncertainties

of remain or brexit, and we are still starting to find our feet again, and this happened. to say this recession is off the charts wouldn't quite be accurate. you can just about keep it on your chart if you do one that looks like this. that dip, over on the left, is the global financial crisis. at the time, the worst slump for 80 years. but you can see this line, closest to me, that is what we have just been through. and it's far larger. overall, the uk economy shrank over six months by an unprecedented 22%, a slightly smaller drop than spain, but more than twice the size of the recession in the united states. we're seeing economies in other nearby countries recovering more quickly than they are in the uk. that is of deep concern, because it suggests thatjust as with the health response, where the uk has been an outlier, we're becoming an outlier on the economic response as well. this morning, the chancellor defended the government's record, but acknowledged there was worse to come. if you look at our economy, social activities, for example

going to have a meal, go shopping, go see a movie, those kinds of activities comprise a much larger share of our economy than they do for most of our european cousins. and in a situation where we have locked down, shut down those parts of our economy for three months, almost, for a significant period of time, it's unsurprising that that has had an outsized impact on our economy. in june, as lockdown restrictions were eased, the economy did grow by a record for a month of 8.7%. but it is still more than 17% below where it was at the start of the pandemic. andy verity, bbc news. our business correspondent ben thompson is talking to local businesses in high wycombe. what have people been saying to you, ben? yes, you're absolutely right, diners here, making the most of the chancellor's eat out to help out scheme this lunchtime, helping them to regain some of the business they lost during lockdown. here, the council has allowed them to put

chairs and tables on the pavement for the first time, all an effort to get them back up and running. you might think it is large business best able to help with a recession. they have deeper pockets, bigger budgets. but it is local business year that has been telling me smaller firms year that has been telling me smallerfirms are year that has been telling me smaller firms are able to be more nimble. they can change what they do and adapt to the new normal. one big concern they have is the ending of that fellow scheme, knowing when is the time to bring those staff back in. is there enough demand locally to ta ke in. is there enough demand locally to take those stuff off the fellow scheme and get them back to work full big questions about that here. one bright spot amid some pretty depressing economic news is that normally about 10% of the local population in high wycombe would commute into central london for work. taking with them all the money that they would spend in the local economy. but in this new normal, with many more working from home, they are spending here, and the bars, restaurants and shops in high

wycombe. they are spending locally. good news for local businesses here. they are seeing a benefit. but also good news for the economy nationally is more of us get out spending, helping the economy, one would hope, bounce back. senator kamala harris has become the first black woman on a presidential ticket in us history, afterjoe biden selected her as his running—mate. the democratic party campaign has said they will work together to restore the soul of the nation. they face the incumbent donald trump in the vote in november. he has said he is surprised byjoe biden's choice, saying kamala harris did very poorly in the primaries. david willis reports. in kamala harris, joe biden has chosen a black running mate 22 years his junior. the first woman of colour ever to appear on a major party's presidential ticket. born in oakland, california, the elder daughter of an indian mother and a jamaican father, kamala harris was a public prosecutor and a california senator before launching her own campaign for the democratic presidential nomination

in january last year. she dropped out of the race in december. announcing his choice of running mate, joe biden called her "a fearless fighter for the little guy" and "one of the country's finest public servants. she vowed that he would unify the american people and build a country that "lives up to our ideals". they've not always seen eye to eye, however. in the first democratic primary debate, she rebuked him for speaking warmly of senators who had once defended racial segregation. you also worked with them to oppose bussing. and, you know, there was a little girl in california who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools and she was bussed to school every day. and that little girl was me. that's a mischaracterisation of my position across the board. i did not praise racists.

kamala harrisjoins the democratic ticket at a time of unprecedented crisis in america as the country grapples with the thorny issues of police brutality and racial injustice. since the death of george floyd, she's toughened her stance on police reform, but remains, in essence, a centrist like joe biden. voters rejected harris... although the trump campaign is already seeking to portray her as a radical left winger. and president trump called her selection a surprise. i think a lot of people were saying that might be the pick. i was more surprised than anything else because she did so poorly. many people did much better than her in the primaries. she did very poorly in the primaries. and that's like a poll, you know, that's like a poll. were he to beat donald trump in november, joe biden would be the oldest person in american history to become president. thus, there is speculation that he might choose to only serve one term. that could leave kamala harris,

the front runner, to lead her party into the presidential elections four years from now. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. barbara plett usher is in washington. what has been that the wider reaction to the choice of kamala harris? well, president trump was tweeting again this morning, to once again essentially call her a failure because of her poor performance in the primaries. the wider republican reaction has been to target her as being overly liberal, saying she would pulljoe biden to the left. frankly, they were going to say that about anybody that joe frankly, they were going to say that about anybody thatjoe biden chose, and other candidates would have been easier to target. for example, and other candidates would have been easierto target. for example, it might have been more easy to attack a spying susan or communist current. instead they are attacking phony kamala, that is the name for her.

she is a safe choice because she is a moderate, and has been vetted in the senate and primary campaigns. if she had a dinosaur in a closet, it would have come out by now. they have come behind herfirmly with would have come out by now. they have come behind her firmly with a unified voice, and she is seen as exciting for those that want to be excited, and they are having a delighted, overwhelming response from black women. also somebody that reassures those in the centre, those on the left would have preferred a more liberal candidate, but it was determined that this was the ticket that could beat president trump. the former presidents have responded in that way. bill clinton said she was a terrific choice, it would be a strong team. president obama said she has more than prepared for the job, let's go out and win this. our top story this lunchtime: a major incident is declared after a train derails in aberdeenshire. dozens of emergency services vehicles including an air ambulance are responding.

and still to come — as new zealand's largest city auckland goes back into lockdown — officials investigate whether the virus was brought into the country by imported freight. coming up on bbc news, we'll bring you the latest from the world snooker championship in sheffield, where kyren wilson, fresh from knocking out the defending champion, faces anthony mcgill in the semifinals. there s concern that inclusion in sport is being halted by the effects of covid—19. the british edition of the special olympics, for competitors with an intellectual disability, was recently cancelled. while organisers here hope to revive it, globally the organisation is worried its athletes may be left behind as sport attempts to restart. joe wilson reports. so, which one are you drawing today? hillsborough. ah, 0k. niall guite had an idea. and boy, it grew.

missing sport in lockdown, he began depicting some of the world's most famous grounds, and selling the images for charity. which has been the most difficult one to do, niall? wembley. wembley? because it's so big? yeah. and it took the longest to do, as well. niall won basketball gold in the world special olympics — sport for people with an intellectual disability. he didn't have friends before special olympics because theyjust, you know, the connections at school just weren't there, were they? and it took me two years to convince you to go to the games. i can't stop him going now. ah, but there's the problem. sheffield, the guites' home city, hosted the last british games, but it's not clear where, when or even if they'll next happen. liverpool was supposed to host. the city pulled out — finances hit by covid, and the calendar crowded with other rescheduled events.

globally, these pressures are growing, and so is the concern at special olympics about their athletes. these are people who are often marginalised. they're not included, they're not respected, and they're just not valued for what they can bring to society. our revolution, we say, is inclusion. covid—19 cases have spiked amongst people with an intellectual disability. there are various reasons for that. but fitness is crucial. so, why are we doing it indoors? so niall is training and hoping for another chance to compete. joe wilson, bbc news. officials in new zealand are investigating the possibility that its first covid—19 cases in more than three months were imported by freight. the country's biggest city, auckland, was placed back into lockdown after the cases were discovered yesterday.

shaimaa khalil has been following developments from sydney. tell us more about why they think it goes back to freight? well, they think that one of the auckland frozen goods stores, where one of the family members who tested positive had been working, could be the answer to the source of the infection. up until now, the actual source is still unknown. but we understand that investigators are looking into surface testing into that frozen goods store to find out whether the virus has been imported by freight. the director—general of health said that the virus may have survived those refrigerated circumstances. we are waiting to see the results of those tests. that is really the main concern of health officials at the moment, finding out the origin of those cases, to try to

control them. a couple of other worrying developments as auckland spent its first three days back in level three lockdown. one is that we now know there are four probable cases linked to the infected family. two relatives en two co—workers have all shown symptoms and are awaiting test results. the other is that it has emerged not to matter of the family members who have tested positive for covid—19 have actually travelled outside of auckland. so thatis travelled outside of auckland. so that is also worrying health workers as well. so, all in all, i think it isa as well. so, all in all, i think it is a disappointing turn for new zealand, that has previously been seen as a success story, zealand, that has previously been seen as a success story, notjust containing the virus but actually eliminating it at one point. and thatis eliminating it at one point. and that is no longer the case. many young people are facing tough choices as they consider their futures. as they anxiously await news on how they have done in their courses, they prepare to graduate into a recession—hit economy with growing unemployment. tim muffett has been talking to some

of those who could be impacted, as they consider their options. being a young adult in 2020 is no walk in the park. cancelled exams, a shrinking jobs market. juwon hopes to start an apprenticeship with an investment bank in september but she'll need the right a—level grades tomorrow. with the grading situation, we're graded on something we didn't do. and if we take that to an employer, if it was a really bad grade, that's not a representation of me and my abilities in my capabilities. there are some grim predictions over levels of unemployment. even if she gets her apprenticeship, juwon worries for her friends. i'm hoping that the whole labour market will change but i know it'll be very hard right now. it sounds an anxious time. is it? definitely. some adults pity us but they're not understanding the effect it is having on us. literally at home, i've been sitting at home thinking what grades will i be getting? creative industries are facing enormous challenges. catherine's studying make—up for film and television. her btec exams have practical

elements and had had to be postponed, so no results for her tomorrow. barber shops and stuff, they're all allowed to open, they've got clear guidelines, wearing visors and stuff like that. whereas, being a make—up artist, you have to touch the face, don't you? so... they're unclear on how we can actually perform safely. a lot of the girls in my class, they are supposed to be coming out, doing jobs now. they should have started jobs now but obviously because of the situation we are in there is probably not going to be manyjobs for them at the minute anyway. it's a weird kind of nervousness because we haven't done exams, so we can't be worried about anything we've done. it's more stressing about how we've done throughout the whole year and how our teachers are going to predict our grades, come thursday. with the right a—level grades, ciaran will be studying law at university college london. i'm quite worried because the legal industry is becoming more and more saturated. and entering into recession, i'm not sure whether firms will keep taking the same number of interns as they usually do. as a teenager, adam had dreams

of becoming a professional footballer, but it wasn't to be. i'm currently looking for work, didn't go the educational route. my interests are to get into the media industry. i haven't quite found my niche yet. i'm still on a journey to find what exactly i'm most passionate about. all the jobs i want specifically, i feel like i don't have any guidance to get there. if i could wave a magic wand, if there was a miracle, i would love to have a stable job that i love, just like everyone else. first steps into adult life are rarely trouble—free. but in 2020 thatjourney seems more challenging than ever. tim muffett, bbc news. good luck to them and everyone else waiting for exam results. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes.

the atmosphere is in a